Elio Sandri Cascina Disa Barolo Riserva DOCG (2018) –– Piemonte

A single Barolo from a single cellar in Perno, farmed without chemicals and aged in wood for years, not months. Elio Sandri sells directly, ignores the critics and releases when he is ready — the 2018 is here now, and it is a beautiful, old-fashioned thing.

THE GRAPE
Nebbiolo from the vines around Cascina Disa in Perno, Monforte d'Alba — some of them planted in 1937. Grey loam with veins of sand, east and south facing, 300 metres up, farmed without chemicals or certificates. The grape here is austere and perfumed at the same time, which is the whole point of Nebbiolo.

THE WINE
Fermented on native yeasts in cement, then left in big old Slavonian casks for as long as the vintage needs — years, not months — and released when Elio says so. 2018 was a cooler, rainier year in the Langhe and the wine is the more graceful for it: dried rose, red cherry, tar, a little mint, and long, chalky tannins that still have plenty to say. It tastes like Barolo used to before it got expensive. Decant for two hours, or wait until 2035.

FOOD PAIRING
Braised beef in Barolo, roast lamb, wild boar, a bollito misto with all the sauces. Or an old Castelmagno and nothing else. This is a wine that likes its food slow and its evening long.